During the early centuries of the history of the Church, many stated their faith in letters, creeds, and confessions. These theological affirmations were used in the worship and in the defense of the faith. So it is to this day: The Church continues to affirm its faith in the revelation of God in Christ through the ongoing work of theological writing and dialogue.
This present volume comes from the Pentecostal community of faith and is the work of teachers of Bible and theology in the seminary and colleges of the Assemblies of God. It is a statement that the work of theology is valued and approached seriously and earnestly in the Pentecostal branch of the Church.
The first intended audience for this book is the students at the institutions represented by the authors. They deserve to read theology from the perspectives of teachers within the educational community in which they are studying. The clergy of the Assemblies of God and other Pentecostal fellowships, too, should have the privilege of a theological presentation that is in keeping with the faith they have received and are passing on to the congregations they serve. Local church members will also profit from reading this biblical affirmation of faith. Other churches and denominations can receive benefit as well, for most of the truths defended in this work are also held by all Bible believers.
I wish to thank Dr. G. Raymond Carlson, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (1985–93); the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary; Central Bible College; Berean College; the Postsecondary Education Department of the Assemblies of God; the Division of Foreign Missions of the Assemblies of God; and others who have made this project possible. Special thanks are due to Dr. Edgar Lee, Dr. Elmer Kirsch, Dr. Zenas Bicket, and Rev. David Bundrick, who have read the manuscripts and made many helpful suggestions. Special thanks also are due to Glen Ellard and his editorial staff for their expert help.
In line with the usage of both the KJV and the NIV, LORD is used in capitals and small capitals where the Hebrew of the Old Testament has the personal, divine name of God, Yahweh (which was probably pronounced ya-wā).1
In quoted Scripture, words the authors wish to emphasize are in italics.
For easier reading, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words are all transliterated with English letters.
These abbreviations have been used:
| AV: | Authorized Version |
| BDB: | New Brown-Driver-Briggs Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon |
| DPCM: | Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements |
| Ger.: | German |
| Gk.: | Greek |
| Heb.: | Hebrew |
| KJV: | King James Version |
| Lat.: | Latin |
| NASB: | New American Standard Bible |
| NCV: | New Century Version |
| NEB: | The New English Bible |
| NIV: | New International Version |
| NKJV: | New King James Version |
| NRS: | New Revised Standard Version |
| RSV: | Revised Standard Version |
STANLEY M. HORTON
GENERAL EDITOR
1The Hebrew wrote only the consonants YHWH. Later traditions followed the New Latin JHVH and added vowels from the Hebrew for “Lord” to remind them to read Lord instead of the divine name. But this was never intended to be read “Jehovah.”